Time In A Garden

                          Time In A Garden
Dear Friends,
     One thing that a garden requires is time.  Time to plan, to prepare the soil, plant seeds, time to wait for growth and time to pull weeds and time for harvest. Now that fall is here and winter seems to be racing to get here, my time in the garden is spent harvesting the last of the tomatoes, peppers and herbs.
   "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a book that shows what can happen to a garden when left to itself for a number of years and how it can spring to life again when it is cared for.
     The young Mary Lennox who had been sent to live with her uncle in Yorkshire discovers a secret garden that has been locked up and the key hidden away for the past 10 years.  
    The story is full of surprises and beautiful transformations in both the people and in the garden. 
    God has a time for everything and if we experience a time where the garden is locked  for a period of time God knows and has His plans even if we don't see the beauty in it for a time. The spring will come in His time. That garden that is planted by Him won't be hidden or covered with debris forever.
     I am always thankful when I have the time to spend in the garden. In the fall I like to collect seeds and colorful dried ornamental grasses and lovely lavender flowers and sweet smelling herbs. Fresh herbs from my garden are nice to dry and use in the kitchen during the long, cold winter. When the house needs to be closed up against the cold weather it can be a comfort to have the scent of simmering pasta sauce made with the basil, oregano and parsley from my garden. These are small reminders to me that cold weather won't last forever and my garden will bloom again.
     Ecclesiastes 3 is the well know chapter about time.  The times are all in God's mind.  Verse 1 says that "to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose." This letter is a reminder of His faithfulness even when things aren't blooming.